Migrants disembark from a boat that rescued them after two vessels sank off the coast of Italy’s Lampedusa island. Photo: Getty Images
At least 27 migrants have died after two boats capsized while attempting to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy.
Around 60 survivors were rescued from the seas off the island of Lampedusa, while the search for others continues, News.Az reports, citing foriegn media.
More than 700 people have died trying to cross the central Mediterranean this year, according to the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR).
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni offered her “deepest condolences” to the victims. A UNHCR spokesperson said there was “deep anguish” felt over the incident.
More than 90 people were aboard the two boats before they capsized, Flavio Di Giacomo, spokesperson for the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said.
The island of Lampedusa is home to a migrant reception centre that is often overcrowded with challenging living conditions. It welcomes tens of thousands of migrants who have survived the often dangerous route across the Mediterranean to Europe every year.
Those who make the journey often travel in poorly maintained and overcrowded vessels.
At least 25,000 people have gone missing or been killed while trying to cross the central Mediterranean since 2014, according to the IOM.